


Cara Mia

by BooksAndCats



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Assassin's Creed II - Fandom
Genre: Blood and Injury, Explicit Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Sexism, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksAndCats/pseuds/BooksAndCats
Summary: Cara Rossi was raised as an Assassin, and one violent attack on a safehouse threw her into a whirlwind as she tries to navigate her new life five hundred years in the past. (Summery sucks, my apologies!)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Keys on the keyboard cracked loudly as two women typed furiously at their computers. Around them a small team swarmed around the room, packing equipment and papers as fast as possible.

"Templars inbound! Pick up the pace, people!"

A large man with an even larger presence strode into the room and made his way towards the women.

"Lydia, Cara, I hope to God you girls have finished, because we need to leave. Now."

Lydia hit one more button before she stood and nodded, "Yeah, just finished."

She stood and pulled a memory stick from her computer (which was immediately whisked away by an older woman), and handed the stick to the man which he pocketed absently.

Cara remained silent as she typed feverishly. 

"Cara, finish up, we gotta go!"

The woman only spared enough time to shoot a glare at the man before she turned back to her computer.

"I need to get this to Shaun and his team, it could help their search for the artifact."

“It could help? We need a hell of a lot more than it could help!”

The doors to the abandoned warehouse shuddered violently, causing the men and women inside to freeze. The man stepped away from Cara’s desk, nudging one of the people nearest him, “Come on, folks, get a move on. Cara, we are out of time, we have to go!”

Lydia noticed the dirty look on Cara’s face and quickly stepped between the two before the other woman could say something that would only end in a fight, “Hey, William, why don’t you take the rest of the Assassins and get them out of here. I’ll stay with Cara and we will meet up with you all at the next safe house.”

The man, William, did not look pleased at the suggestion, but one glance at Cara typing away at her computer and William turned, “Fuck! Fine, Lydia, but the second those bastards manage to break through those doors, I want you and Cara out of here, got that?”

Cara stopped typing long enough to throw a sarcastic, two finger salute before resuming her work. At this point Lydia is certain that the other woman had a talent, a god-given skill, of pissing people off without saying a word if William’s expression is anything to go by. She stepped up to him just as he opened his mouth to yell and pushed him towards the waiting Assassins.

“I swear it, William. Even if i have to drag her out kicking and screaming I will get the both of us out of here.”

This seemed to mollify William enough since he turned away with a grumble, “See that you do.”  
With that the man spun on his heel and began to call out orders to the Assassins, splitting them into teams in the hopes of shaking any tails they may pick up in their escape.

The doors shuddered again, louder this time, causing Lydia to frown. She and the few engineers on the team had reinforced the main door. The warehouse, while not large, was perfect to hide in. The modern schematics did not show the network of tunnels under the building, and the assassins took full advantage of that as they made their escape.

Lydia crept closer to the door to inspect the engineers’ work before stepping away as the door shuddered violently, as if the person on the other side was frustrated. 

“And done!”

Lydia turned as Cara stood and pulled a memory stick from the computer. She nearly jumped from her skin as Cara picked up a broken pipe and began to beat the computer viciously; once she was satisfied Cara dropped to her knees and rooted through the broken pieces until she found what appeared to be the motherboard which she snapped in half. She dropped the pieces and picked up one more which she smashed into the concrete floor of the warehouse.

Cara stood and dusted herself off, looking pleased with herself.

Lydia raised an eyebrow at her friend, “Feel better now?”

“Oh, loads!”

Lydia’s reply was cut off as the windows closest to the doors shattered. She threw her arms over her head to protect herself from the falling glass, a move which caused her to miss the small cylinders that rolled to a stop before promptly exploding. The concussive force threw Lydia a few feet where she crumpled in a dazed heap.

“Lydia! Shit!”

Cara scrambled forward to pull the downed Assassin further away from the window in case the bastards on the other side of the door decided to throw more grenades. It escaped her notice that one of the grenades landed too close to the piles of forgotten papers and equipment, the flames caught quickly and only grew as it fed on the equipment.

Unfortunately, Cara noticed the flames just as they reached the gasoline used to power the generators. She only had enough time to whisper a soft, “Oh shit” before the flames exploded violently in all directions.

The two Assassins landed several feet away from the blast, causing the only conscious woman to cry out in pain. Cara’s back took the brunt of the explosion when she tried her best to protect her friend. She winced as she stumbled to her feet.

The entire building was engulfed in flames,and ancient support beams groaned as the fire raced across them. Cara knew she didn’t have enough time to get herself and Lydia to safety; the only way for her to escape was to leave her best friend behind, a thought that was unacceptable to her.

“We’re Assassins, we pull off the impossible, right, Lyds?”

The silence from her companion didn’t stop her from hooking her hands under Lydia’s arms and began the process of dragging them both to safety.

The roof held longer than Cara expected, giving her hope that maybe there was a chance to escape. Though her hope evaperated just as fast as she came to the trap door that led to the service tunnels that ran beneath the building. A large beam and other debris had landed on top of the door.

Cara dropped to her knees and put her shoulder to the beam, wincing as embers burned through her shirt as she tried to push it. It groaned as her weight pushed against it, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. She collapsed next to the beam as she lost her footing, striking her head against the rubble as she fell.

Dazed, the Assassin pushed herself to sit upright. She crawled, her shaking arms pulled her towards her friend. Cara sat with her blistered back to the wall as she pulled her best friend onto her lap; hugging Lydia close, Cara closed her eyes and buried her face in the other Assassin’s shoulder.

With one final groan, the beams that supported the roof gave way, plunging the duo into darkness as smoke and flames swirled, throwing a shower of sparks into the night sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Muffled voices and a pounding headache greeted Cara as she struggled her way to consciousness. Whoever was speaking must not have noticed her waking as they continued speaking rapidly, too rapidly for Cara’s certainly concussed brain to understand.

The Assassin opened her eyes and immediately closed them again with a groan when they were assaulted by the light that illuminated the room. Her groan must have alerted the owners of the voices since they went silent immediately.

There was a rustle of fabric as someone sat next to the bed, and a soft, male voice spoke:

“Madonna, can you hear me?”

Cara cracked her eyes open, allowing them to adjust to the light before opening them further. Her eyes roamed around the room as her bruised brain tried to take everything in. 

A candle on the bedside table caught her attention and the flame that danced on the wick suddenly brought to mind the fire that raged in the warehouse. The memories of that night flooded her thoughts causing her to jerk suddenly as she tried to sit up.

Gentle hands pushed her shoulders back, trying to get her to stay in bed as she struggled against them. Her smoke damaged throat burned as her hoarse cries bubbled up.

“Lydia! Damn it, get off me! I have to find Lydia! Lydia!”

The soft voice was back as it shushed her gently, though the tone of the voice now seemed stressed, “Madonna, you cannot struggle like this, please! You’ll hurt yourself more if you do.”

Cara’s eyes snapped to the man that tried to hold her down. The man had a slight build with straw colored hair that framed his face nicely. A red hat was perched on his head and his clothes-

Cara’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of his clothes. The man’s clothes looked like they belonged in the Renaissance, though she couldn’t be sure since that time period was Lydia’s expertise.

Movement caught her eye and Cara reached blindly to her belt where she kept her throwing knives. Except her belt wasn’t there. Neither were her knives. 

Her eyes remained locked on the second man that stood behind the first. Everything about that man had her on edge. The way he moved was almost predatory, like watching a lion, graceful but incredibly dangerous. 

“Where am I? What the hell are you?”

The first man cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to himself. He gave her an uncertain smile as her eyes locked with his.

“My name is Leonardo and this is my studio in Firenze. My friend found you collapsed not too far from here.” He motioned to the older man that stood behind him as Cara’s eyes flickered from him, to the second man, and to her surroundings taking in the canvases and sketches that littered the workshop.

“Why bring me to an artist?”

Leonardo scratched his jaw almost looking uncomfortable as her eyes landed on him again, “Ah, well, it seems the mark on your arm made him hesitant to bring you to a hospital.”

Cara frowned and turned her arm over. Nothing truly remarkable lay on her arm, well, except for her tattoo. She absently brushed her fingers against the elegant swirls that decorated her wrist and formed the shape of the symbol of the Assassins. She remembered getting it done soon after she gained the rank of Assassin, she and Lydia had gotten matching tattoos together.

Her eyes snapped up to the men. Leonardo seemed fascinated by the ink making her skin, but the other man’s eyes remained locked on her face.

“Are you part of the Order?”

The man behind Leonardo stepped closer and Cara noticed his hand rested on his sword, an honest to god sword. The man spoke for the first time, drawing her attention away from the sword. His voice was gentle, but there was a hint of steel to it, “If I were to say ‘Nothing is true’ how would you respond, madonna?”

Cara’s eyes narrowed as her voice burned from the strain as she responded, “I would respond with ‘Everything is permitted.’”

The man’s shoulders slumped slightly in apparent relief as his hand relaxed on his sword. "I apologize, but I can't be too careful, especially now."

The man smiled and bowed slightly, "My name is Giovanni Auditore da Firenze." 

Cara frowned, that name was so familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it. She was interrupted from her musings when she realized both men were watching her, waiting for her introduction.

"Ah, my name is Cara Rossi."

She awkwardly stretched out her hand towards the men for a handshake before she second guessed herself and pulled her hand back.  
There was a reason she was behind the computer most of the time, and the reason was that Cara had a raging case of social anxiety. Now though, she needed to try to push past it and get some information.

"Uh, I have a few questions to ask if you don't mind, sir. Some may seem odd."

Giovanni nodded his head and took a seat in a chair next to Leonardo, motioning for her to ask her questions.

"How did you find me? Where did you find me?"

The older Assassin steepled his fingers as he mulled over her question, "I found you collapsed in an alley not too far from here. You were covered in burns and your clothes were no more than rags."

Cara nodded, she could put the pieces together from there about how she got here and how she got in...the nightgown?

She plucked at the fabric awkwardly before she forced her mind back to gathering intel (something she was supposed to be good at)

After clearing her throat and turning her attention back to the two men, Cara asked her next question,

"What is the date?"

"Today is August 20th, 1475."

Leonardo was the one to answer that question, drawing her shocked stare to him. He studied her reaction curiously; his eyes glanced at the bandages that were wrapped tightly around her forehead, and Cara couldn't help but hope that he would chalk up her shocked reaction to a concussion.

"Uh, one more question, please."

At Giovanni's nod she took a deep breath and clutched the blankets tightly.

"Was there another woman with me when I was found?"

"No, there was no one else."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been editing this for three days. I've tried to make it flow as best as I could, but I'm not sure I've done y'all justice. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, I hope to have the next chapter up in about a week! I'm also thinking of starting another story for Lydia' pov! Have a good day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for injuries and Cara's awful sense of humor

The first time Cara woke after her conversation with Leonardo and Giovanni, she was certain she would find herself in yet another warehouse with her friends, especially Lydia, around her, teasing her for taking a long nap when there was work to do. She truly hoped meeting the two men back in 1475 was just a dream brought about by smoke inhalation and over-work. 

She prayed for it to be all a dream.

Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes again she was met with stone walls covered in sketches and paintings, all designed by a skilled hand. 

Cara pushed herself up, ignoring the pain that radiated through her body as she maneuvered her legs to dangle over the side of the bed. Now that her legs were no longer covered by the blanket she could see bandages wrapped tightly around her legs.

Shaking hands reached for the bandages on her left legs as she began to unwrap it, wincing as it caught and pulled her injuries. As the last of the bandages fell away Cara gagged and closed her eyes in an effort to hide from what she saw.

Burns covered her leg, red and blacked skin leaked pus, and whatever medicine that was applied to it made it look grotesque. 

She turned away from the wound as she struggled to keep her panic down. Turning her attention to her surroundings, she noticed a window in the room that let in light as well as faint noise from the streets outside. 

That was her target. 

Was it a bad idea? Definitely! 

Cara grit her teeth and gripped the bed post as she shifted her weight and made an attempt to stand. The pain that shot through her legs tore a gasp from her throat as she collapsed in a crumpled heap.

The door slammed open revealing a concerned Leonardo. With a sharp “merda” the man crossed the room and gathered the distressed assassin in his arms and carefully maneuvered her to the bed,

He stepped back, taking in her unbandaged leg and noting that a few blisters had broken open when she fell, leaking more pus and discharge down her ruined skin. A choked sob caught his attention, and his eyes snapped up to her face. Cara’s jaw was clenched, her eyes were screwed shut, and every muscle was tensed.

His heart hurt to see the suffering she was clearly enduring. Leonardo reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her attention. The woman’s hazel eyes locked on his blue ones as she let out a shuddering breath.

“I will get new bandages and salves for your legs, madonna, please, wait here and try not to move.”

Cara flushed in embarrassment as she thought of her failed attempt at walking and nodded.

Leonardo turned and left the room, gathering everything he needed to treat the young woman that was trusted into his care. He returned quickly, his arms laden with his supplies which he set on a nearby table and moved a chair to the side of her bed.

The artist was silent as he cleaned the mess on her leg as carefully as he could, trying to ignore her winces and gasps of pain. He picked up the salve given to him by the doctor that Messere Auditore hired and carefully spread it over the burns. After he tied the bandages, he began to remove the dressings on her right leg to begin the process over again.

Cara’s hands clenched the fabric of her nightgown as the artist cleaned and inspected her injuries, which thankfully weren’t as bad as her other leg. She nearly sobbed in relief when the last of the bandages were tied and his hands released her leg to pull the blanket over her. 

He stood and gathered the soiled bandages and rags, but froze when he heard a hoarse voice break the silence.

“Thank you, Leonardo.

The artist’s face lit up with a grin at her words, “It is no trouble madonna!”

She scoffed softly though the corners of her lips twitched in amusement as she turned her head to face him, “Cara, amico, my name is Cara.”

The laugh that bubbled out of Leonardo’s throat was infectious, and Cara found herself smiling.

Leonardo reminded her of a brother in the Italian chapter she had been assigned to not long after she achieved the rank of Assassin. The man had taken her under his wing and his energetic nature was endearing; there had been whispers and rumours that swirled among the other assassins, about the two of them having romantic relations, but when the rumour reached the two of them, they both had almost collapsed as they howled with laughter. Cara remembered how her sides ached from laughing so hard.

It was true that they loved each other, but the love they had for each other was the love of a brother for his little sister and vise versa. He was her best friend and confidante.

Until one particular mission-

Cara closed her eyes as she tried to drive the memory away. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand rested on her shoulder. Her eyes met Leonardo’s concerned face and she attempted to smile though it looked more like a grimace.

“I’m alright, Leonardo, bad memories.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

She let out a coarse chuckle as she shook her head, “I’ve known you for a day, I’m afraid you haven’t unlocked my tragic backstory, yet.”

“Scusi?”

She huffed in amusement and waved her hand dismissively, “Ah, sorry, a joke from where I’m from.”

Leonardo’s expression turned to one of interest, “And where are you from, Cara?”

Cara’s mind scrambled to come up with an answer that wouldn’t end with Leonardo questioning her sanity, since she couldn’t tell him that she had lived most of her adult life in a continent that hadn’t been discovered yet.

“I am from Venezia.”

In the back of her mind, Cara could practically hear one of the brotherhood instructors that had been teaching field assassins about espionage, “The best way to remember cover stories is to plant a seed of truth.”

She hoped he would leave it at that, especially since her memories of the city were few. She didn’t know what Venezia was like in this time period, and she didn’t have Lydia to help her if she fucked up and said more than she should have.

Thank god bells from a nearby church rang and distracted the artist from asking any more questions.

“Dio mio, is it this late already?” He stood from the chair he had taken a seat in without her noticing. “I will bring some food for you, and then let you rest.”

Cara smiled and relaxed against the pillows that supported her back, “Thank you, Leonardo.”

The man grinned and left the room, leaving the exhausted Assassin to her thoughts as she turned to the window. The setting sun painted the sky in golds and pinks as she watched a flock of birds fly from their perch on a nearby roof. The beat of their wings and the sounds of the city outside pulled her towards sleep.

Before Leonardo returned with the promised food, Cara had fallen into the arms of Morpheus and drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though I'm not totally satisfied with the ending, I am pretty satisfied with the chapter over all (and I did it completely sober!) Anyways, thank you for reading! It was mentioned in a comment that Cara seems to understand Italian fairly well and I will say it has to do with her backstory which will be revealed as the story progresses, but I still really appreciated the comment since it gave me ideas and showed that someone appreciated my story enough to express their opinion! Every comment and kudo means the world to me and I love all of you! Have a beautiful day, my dears!


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed since Cara woke up in 1475, in the home of Leonardo.

Oh, poor, poor Leonardo.

The young artist was frequently interrupted from his work to help her back to the bed after several failed attempts at walking. 

Normally, she would feel bad for causing such an inconvenience for him, but she was making progress, getting closer and closer to the damn window with each attempt. She couldn’t give up, not yet.

Now, however, Cara was laying as still as she could as a man in dark robes and a creepy ass beaked mask removed the bandages from her legs. Leonardo had told her that the man was a doctor when he introduced the man, though he conveniently left out the fact that the man was a plague doctor, and the man’s mere presence had her on edge.

She watched closely as the doctor inspected the healing burns on her legs. He removed his hands after a while and turned to the satchel at his feet, pulling out a ceramic jar. 

“Make sure to apply this salve to the burns daily. I’m afraid these will scar, but the salve should help keep the skin supple enough to allow for your regular range of movement.”

The thought of scars never bothered Cara before, the life of an assassin left one open to many forms of permanent injury and even death; Cara herself already had a few scars from her short stint as a field assassin, but the burns scars on her legs? She already despised the sight of them. They were a permanent reminder that she failed to save the last person she considered to be family.

It took a moment for Cara to realize the doctor seemed to be waiting for a response. She cleared her throat awkwardly and took the offered jar from the man’s hands. “I understand. Uh, thank you.”

The doctor seemed satisfied with her response and began to pack his bag, giving the rest of the instructions to Leonardo. It took all of her willpower to not roll her eyes, but, unfortunately, feminism wasn’t a thing in Renaissance Italy, and if she wanted to fly under the radar then she would have to suck it up for now.

Another unfortunate obstacle they had to overcome was how to explain her presence here. A single woman in the home of a single man that was not her relative or husband would raise many eyebrows, so, together they agreed that she would pose as Leonardo’s sister, freshly widowed and visiting her brother for comfort in these trying times. She’s not sure what story the artist concocted to explain how she got the burns to the doctor, and frankly she’s quite curious, but that can be a topic for another time.

After Leonardo saw the doctor to the door, he returned to poke his head into the room, “I must deliver paintings to one of my patrons, will you be alright on your own for just a few hours?”

Cara huffed in amusement and nodded, “I think I can survive a few hours, Leonardo. Take your time.”

Leonardo raised an eyebrow at her statement, clearly remembering every time he had to pull her up off the floor, as he tried valiantly to hide a smile, “Indeed? Then perhaps you won’t reacquaint yourself with the floor this time?” The young artist ducked out the door with a laugh, narrowly dodging a pillow, and leaving a sputtering Assassin in his wake.

Cara huffed again and tried her best to force the embarrassed flush off her face, “‘Reacquainted with the floor.’ I’m more than acquainted with the floor, the floor is my best friend.”

She waited a grand total of five minutes before she pushed the sheets off her legs as she once again swung her legs over the side of the bed. Taking a deep breath, Cara once more pushed herself up and onto her feet; she held tightly to the bedpost for a moment in order to allow her legs to adjust to weight being placed on them. 

There was pain, she wouldn’t deny that, but it was bearable now. Cara glared at the window in determination as she released her grip on the bedpost. 

The first steps were easy, but the further she walked the shakier her legs were and the worse the pain became; however, Cara refused to stop until she got to the damn window. 

She had already made it past the last spot she collapsed in, less than three feet from the window. Just a few more steps and she would reach her goal.

When her fingers finally brushed against the wood of the window sill, her lips split into a wild grin. Her hands gripped the wood tightly as a laugh bubbled up from her chest. Though the laugh disappeared when she heard a soft voice behind her.

“Well done, madonna.”

Cara spun around, the hidden blade that Giovanni returned to her already extended, though, unfortunately her legs couldn’t take the sudden movement and she tumbled to the ground with all the grace of a drunken flamingo.

Before she could regain her composure (or her dignity) a hand appeared in front her. Her eyes followed the arm connected to the hand and met the eyes of a flustered young man, “Ah, my apologies, I did not intend to startle you.”

She let out a shaky breath as she took the young man’s hand, allowing him to pull her up off the ground. Sharp gasp pulled itself from her throat as her weight settled once more on her damaged legs. Her free hand found the young man’s shoulder as she steadied herself.

A glance over his shoulder told Cara that Giovanni was also in the room. His hood was pulled up to cover his face though it did nothing to hide the amused quirk of his lips.

Her attention was wrested back to the young man as he led her to a chair close to the window. He also grabbed her shawl from the foot of the bed and handed it to her with a charming smile, “Are you alright? That was a nasty fall, signorina-”

Cara was busy wrapping her shawl around her shoulders, and it took a moment to realize the young man was waiting for her name. 

“Cara Rossi. Call me Cara, please.”

The young man took her hand in his, the suave smile still on his lips as he brushed his lips lightly over her knuckles, “A lovely name, madonna. I am Federico Auditore da Firenze, At your service.”

Cara’s eyebrow nearly hit her hairline when he kissed her hand, withdrawing it quickly as she cleared her throat.

Her lips turned up in amusement as she thought, He must be popular amongst the ladies.

“Auditore?” Her eyes settled on Giovanni as she motioned to the young man, Federico, “Your son?”

The older man nodded as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against, “My eldest.”

Giovanni dragged a second chair closer to hers and took a seat as Cara studied the younger man curiously. He was tall with dark brown hair that was long enough to be tied back with a ribbon. His stance and the sword at his side told her he had training, though her gut told her he wasn’t quite a master.

“Training?”

The amused chuckle told her she was correct in her assumption, “Indeed, you’re very observant, Signora Rossi.”

It took all her will-power not to roll her eyes. The men in this time seemed allergic to calling her by her first name; it had taken most of the week to get Leonardo to call her Cara, and she’ll be damned if she can’t get these two to do the same.

“Cara. Unfortunately, I wasn’t observant enough to notice some bastard setting my safe house on fire,” Her eyes turned back to focus on Giovanni, “but something tells me you are not here just to introduce me to your son.”

The amused quirk remained on Giovanni’s lips as he nodded, “You would be correct.”

Her eyes snapped to Federico once again when he began to move away from her and followed him as he took his place at his father’s side.

“We need to talk.”

Cara tried to keep her expression neutral as her mind raced.

Chances are Giovanni spent the week getting in touch with his contacts and gathering information about a wayward Assassin that appeared out of nowhere. It was the same thing she would have done, and she knows that none of them would have any idea who she was. 

She knew that he was now here to determine what threat she may or may not pose.

Though his expression remained genial, his eyes were hard as steel as he studied her.

“Ah. Well shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! This chapter took ages! Sorry about that, unfortunately I got sick and doctors still haven't a clue about what is going on, so it kinda put a damper on my desire to write. Anyways, thank you for being patient! Have a beautiful day!!

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! Did author once again start another story even though she has many WIPs? Abso-fuckin-lutely! I just finished replaying ACII and AC Brotherhood and inspiration clubbed me violently over the head. Once again, I cannot promise regular updates, but I can promise that this story is not letting me go anytime soon! As always, Kudos and Comments give me life as well as inspiration. I love you all!


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